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Fortified milk
To ‘fortify’ a pint of full cream milk add
2-4 tablespoons skimmed milk powder,
e.g. Marvel or supermarket’s own
skimmed milk powder. This can be used
on cereal, in cups of tea and coffee or
drank on its own.
Suggested meal plan
Breakfast
• Toast and egg
• Cereal with fortified milk
Lunch
• Toast or toasted sandwich with cheese
and ham
• Beans, spaghetti or ravioli with toast
• Sandwiches
• Soup (fortified) with bread
• Samosa, pakora, fried dumpling
• Yoghurt, ice-cream, fruit and custard
Evening meal
• Cauliflower or macaroni cheese
• Pasta dishes, e.g. lasagne, cannelloni
• Jacket potato with butter and filling
• Fish and chips
• Pie and beans
• Chilli-con-carne
• Curry
• Yogurt/rice pudding, fruit and custard
Don’t forget to add snacks in between
meals and try to have something to eat
and drink before you go to bed.
Snack ideas
These are just a few snack ideas which
you can try throughout the day:
• A sandwich or toasted sandwich
• Handful of mixed unsalted nuts
• Beans/egg/spaghetti on toast
• A bowl of soup
• Two biscuits with a glass of fortified
milk
• Cereal and milk
• Any fruit
• A slice of toast with butter
• Chopped vegetables with dips
• A bowl of ice cream
• A yogurt with chopped fruit
• A pie or pasty
The Trust provides free
monthly health talks on a
variety of medical conditions
and treatments. For more information visit
www.uhb.nhs.uk/health-talks.htm
Burns and Plastics
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston
Birmingham, B15 2GW
Tel: 0121 371 5462 (Answer machine)
Food for
recovery
Delivering the best in care
UHB is a no smoking Trust
To see all of our current
patient information leaflets please visit
UHB/PI/0926_04 (Edition 4) Author: Lesley Street
Date: September 2015 Review date: September 2017
Why is food important in
recovery?
It is important that your body gets the
right amount of nutrients in order for it
to repair itself.
It is important that you eat a balanced
diet and drink plenty of fluids. In
addition to this you will also need to
eat extra protein and energy for your
body to make new skin.
Your skin acts as a barrier against
bacteria. Eating a balanced diet will
help your body prevent and fight
infection.
Try to have at least three meals a day
and include plenty of foods from the
following groups:
Starchy food
At each meal try to choose one of the
following:
Bread, breakfast cereal, potato, rice,
pasta, noodles, chapatti, green banana,
crackers, crispbreads.
Protein foods
At least 2 meals per day, aim to have
one of the following:
Meat, poultry, fish, cheese, egg, lentils,
dahl, beans, soya.
Also aim to have a pint of milk
throughout the day (this can be used on
cereals, in drinks, puddings, soups, etc).
Fruit and vegetables
Aim for at least 5 portions of a variety
of fruit and vegetables as snacks or
as part of a meal. If your appetite is
very poor, still try to aim for at least 3
portions a day. These provide vitamins
and minerals which are important in
helping with repair and growth.
Your GP can advise you in this situation.
If your appetite is poor
Having milky drinks, fortified milk (see
below) such as hot chocolate, milky
coffee, or Horlicks.
Aim for 3 small meals per day with
3 small snacks or nutritious drinks.
Remember that larger portions may
put you off so have smaller portions –
you can always go back for a second
helping.
If you do not feel like eating, try having
smaller meals and snacks more often,
for example, every 2-3 hours.
Try to have 2 puddings per day after or
in between your 3 meals for example:
yoghurts, milk puddings, cake or fruit
pie with custard, cream or ice cream.
Have snacks in between meals as long
as they don’t interfere with main meals
for example: cakes, chocolates, biscuits,
crackers and cheese, yoghurts, crisps,
nuts. If you have diabetes continue to
have low sugar products.
Have fluids after your meal – increasing
your fluid intake is also important. Try
to take drinks after/away from meal
times so that you don’t fill up on fluid.
This will allow room for your meals.
Supplement drinks
You may need nutritional supplement
drinks in addition to your food intake.
On days when you don’t feel well
and you can’t manage food, having a
supplement drink or a small snack is
better than going for long periods of
time without food.
Ways to increase your energy
intake
If you are only able to eat small
amounts you can Increase a meal’s
nutritional content by fortifying foods.
This is done by adding extra ingredients
to a food to increase its energy content.
These are some suggestions for
fortifying foods.
To breakfast cereals add: yoghurt, dried
fruit, nuts or evaporated milk.
To vegetables add: cheese, margarine,
butter, cream, mayonnaise or milk sauces.
To soup add: cheese, milk powder,
pasta, cream or beans.
To puddings add: custard, evaporated
milk, condensed milk, ice-cream or
cream, dried milk.
Try to use full cream milk, margarine
(not reduced fat) or butter. Have
‘normal’ squashes, drinks and puddings
unless you are diabetic or otherwise
advised.